For all of his 57 years, Jeff Brown has had only one type of milk: raw milk. (A Washington dairy farmer, Brown admits to indulging in an occasional glass of pasteurized chocolate milk.) He loves how it tastes. And apparently a lot of other people do, too.

Brown, who runs Dungeness Valley Creamery in Sequim, said he gets up to 20 calls a week from people in Oregon and Washington who are curious about raw milk, and its safety.

He tells them all the same thing: Raw milk is best.

"Our product is the way God intended it," says Brown, who sells hundreds of gallons of raw milk directly to families and through Washington grocery stores.

But that's not how pediatricians and Oregon food safety specialists see it.

The production and sale of raw milk are restricted in Oregon. In fact, you can't buy raw cow's milk at a grocery store. The state has a "small farm exception" that allows farmers to have two producing dairy cows on their farms; they may sell raw milk from those two cows, but they have to sell it on the property.

Twenty-nine states allow raw milk to be sold in some form. All other states prohibit it, said Jim Postlewait, who works at the state's food safety division. Only 13 allow raw milk to be sold in stores.

Dr. Tara Schwab, a pediatrician at OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital, said raw milk can transmit bacteria that can lead to multiple infectious diseases, including E. coli, which can be deadly. Children also can get permanent kidney damage that may require an organ transplant. "And it can all be prevented by using pasteurized milk."

Schwab frequently hears from parents exploring the idea of giving their kids raw milk. They've heard it helps with skin conditions, allergies and even asthma. Schwab said raw milk's curative properties - if it has any - are unproven.

"Definitely the risks outweigh the benefits by far," she said.

In 2005, Schwab treated five kids who drank raw milk and developed serious complications. Each had consumed milk that came from a cow-sharing arrangement.

Schwab adds that raw milk isn't just bad for kids. "It's not good for anyone," she said.